New and Improved
by Inspector Brown
Summary: Written at the request of Spindle Berry. This is an interview with the completed Alpha Force. Oneshot.


"In supers' news," said anchor Betty Gravis from DBC News headquarters in New York, "menacing super-villain Herr Cannon has been apprehended and detained, thanks to the work of fledgling super team Alpha Force. Formed no more than three weeks ago with only two members, the Force is now at full capacity with five agents. Here's DBC supers correspondent Michael Farm with the details."

Mr. Farm met with the team in a quiet studio.

"It's great to see you again, Mr. Farm," Python said quite cordially.

"Yes, I do enjoy seeing you too, Python. Could you please introduce me to the rest of your teammates?"

"I'd be happy to. The one with the red hair and sunglasses is Blind Tracy, the handsome Mexican man behind me is Heartthrob, and the girl with brown hair is Liquegirl."

"Nice to meet you all. Blind Tracy, let me start with you. Isn't it silly to include your real name as part of your codename?"

"Yes, I would say that doing that would be pretty silly. Luckily, Tracy is not my real first name."

"Ah-ha!" said Mike, "That's pretty clever! So, is your blindness an obstacle in any way to your job?"

"Once in a while, it can be, yes. But I can always count on my teammates to be strong when I am weak, and vice versa."

"For our viewer's sake, could you tell us what your powers are?"

"Okay, I'm telekinetic, for one, and I can read minds."

"Could you read my mind?"

"Yes, and I won't even need a bookmark to finish!"

Mr. Farm and Blind Tracy laughed at the joke, but nobody else did.

"Okay, moving on, Heartthrob, that's a strange codename, could you tell us why you chose it?"

"Sí, I could," he said, "but I'm not going to!"

Python backhanded him. "Be nice, we're on national television!"

"All right, I'm called Heartthrob because my powers only work when my heart is beating really rapidly."

"And those powers would be…?"

"Super-strength, super-speed, super-vision, pyrokinesis, duplication, yadda yadda yadda, you get the picture."

"I see. The last super I knew of who had that many different powers was Meta Man, who died because of a suit malfunction. I noticed your suit has a cape on it. Are you worried at all that it might snag on something and…"

"…choke me to death?" he finished. "Nah! The cape is attached by Velcro, it comes right off, see?" He demonstrated it.

"Wow, why didn't I think of that? So, how did you come to join the team?"

"I was introduced to them by Superdoc."

"Ah, yes, the breakthrough physician to the supers?"

"Yeah, him. Anyway, the NSA suggested I join a super team to help with my attitude problem."

"And has Alpha Force helped that in any way?"

"It gets rocky at times," Rocket interrupted, "but he's getting better."

"Oh, I forgot to ask! How did you become part of the team, Blind Tracy?"

"To be honest, I sort of got adopted by Python and Rocket after my parents were killed by Herr Cannon."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Do you still hold a grudge against him?"

"Not as long as he is behind bars."  
"I see. Okay, Liquegirl, you've waited long enough."

"That's nice," she said uninterestedly.

"What are your powers?"

"My power is the ability to liquefy at will."

"You can melt?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way; I can stand straight up and still be fluid. In fact, I'm using my power right now."  
"Wow, I never would have noticed! So, how did you come to join the team?"

"Actually, it's a funny story; I used to go out with Rocket here, without knowing that he was a super!"

"Uh-huh," Mike said riveted.

"Well, anyway, we had been going out for about two or three months, and we had hit it off quite well. At that moment, I realized that at the rate we were going we would have to know all about each other sooner or later."

"So," said Rocket, taking over, "she arranged for us to meet at a restaurant, she called me out, and so I told her that I was a super, and then she told me that she was a super, and we've been inseparable ever since."

"Sounds like quite a romance story," Mr. Farm observed. "Now, for a provocative question, and this one goes to all five of you."  
"Go on," they echoed.

"Are you happy with your secret identity life?"

Python answered first. "Yeah, I'm satisfied with the life of my mild-mannered alter ego. She's successful, respected, and she doesn't draw suspicion."

Then it was Rocket's turn. "My secret identity is still in school, about to graduate. He's nervous, and unsure about the future, so I would have to say no, I'm not happy with my normal life."

After him came Blind Tracy. "My other self is still young, and it doesn't bother her that she can't see. I would like to tell the whole world who I really am, but as much as I would like that, I still like my privacy better."

Next to speak was Heartthrob. "I can't really say that I even have a secret life. My alter ego is unemployed, and he's 20 years old! I'd like to get another job, one where I can tell people my given name. Until then, I guess I can't complain."

Liquegirl was last. "I'm fine with my other self. She's a genius, and she's destined for something great. That, and she's in a great relationship with a fantastic guy!"  
"You're referring to Rocket's normal self?"

"That's right."

"Are you guys planning on getting married?"

Liquegirl blushed. "I am not at liberty to discuss that right now."

Everybody laughed.

The shot cut away to Michael standing at the corner of 10th and North Carolina.

"Betty, Alpha Force says that just because Herr Cannon has been captured, that does not mean they are going to disband just yet. They plan to stick together for a very long time. So, for now, whenever Metroville needs heroes, they can count on Alpha Force to be there. Michael Farm, DBC News, California."


End file.
